


Grown

by Verya



Series: Derek/Stiles AU Scenes [8]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Derek-centric, Feels, Fluff, Getting Together, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-04-29
Updated: 2016-04-29
Packaged: 2018-06-03 04:29:57
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,484
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6596701
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Verya/pseuds/Verya
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Derek returns to Beacon Hills after Mexico, he finds things are a little different then when he left.<br/>Goes AU somewhere at the middle/end of season 5.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Grown

**Author's Note:**

> Just some teeth-rotting fluff with a side of feels.

* * *

Derek pulled the Camaro through the familiar streets.  It was hard to believe it had been a year since he was back, Beacon Hills hadn’t changed all that much.  For some reason his hands steered him toward the old preserve - even though it wouldn’t resemble his old home.  A few people were running on the sidewalks, but they thinned as he drove on before finally passing a lone runner sprinting up the hill to the deep woods.  Hale House had been demolished before he left, but instead of subdivision foundations there only stood a small sign: Private Property.

He wasn’t sure what was going on, but he wasn’t able to resist stripping off his shirt and taking off across his old family land.  He paused at the creek and just looked around, there was no pain left when he looked around, just the memories of what happened.  A few breaths later and he was running the miles back to his car.  About two hundred feed away he saw a familiar frame standing next to his car - it was the man that had been sprinting up the last hill.

“Yeah,” the man said into his phone, circling the car, “I think he’s back - it’s the same Camaro, I guess he kept it after all.  It’s on the preserve - no one else comes out here.  I’ll keep an eye out for him, talk to you later.”  The man put his phone back in his pocket and turned around.  Derek was taken aback when he recognized Stiles, no longer a skinny kid.  “Derek?”  Stiles asked, running up to the older man.  For a moment he through the younger man was going to hug him, but Stiles stopped short.

“Stiles,” Derek said, “I didn’t recognize you.  You grew.”  Derek had to look up a little to speak to him, instead of down, maybe a quarter inch difference between them.  Up close he could also see the young man’s shoulders were wider, his shoulders had filled in.  His jaw was stronger with a hint of stubble at his cheeks.  Definitely a man now, the year had aged away any youth Stiles had managed to hold onto.

“You look different too,” Stiles agreed, “Tan and well… happier.  You been traveling?”

“Yeah,” Derek replied.  “Everywhere really.”

“I, un, know,” Stiles admitted sheepishly, “I looked for you for a few weeks.  Always a few steps behind through.  Anyway, you should come by the pack house - Scott’s - everyone’s so excited to see you when I mentioned you might be back.  Unless you have plans…?”

“Uh no, not really,” Derek said, surprised that people would be waiting for him.

“Cool,” Stiles said, “Uh - think I can bum a ride back then?”

“Sure,” Derek answered and they both climbed into the Camaro.  “What happened here?  I thought they were building a subdivision.”

“County Council realized your families property was in a trust,” Stiles answered, his voice a lower timber than it had been a year before.  “And since neither your nor Cora are dead, they can’t seize the preserve.  Turns out you’re fairly loaded - the land’s worth a lot of money and they can’t afford to buy you out.  Even had to pay restitution for trespassing, destruction of property and attempting to sell it.”  Derek raised an eyebrow.  “Dad’s the Sheriff - I have to listen to the rants.”

“Ah,” Derek acknowledged.  “So…you off to college this fall?”

“Going online,” Stiles answered, “Allows me to travel more if I need to.  Like when we had to go looking for the Desert Wolf.”

“That’s good,” Derek replied, “Still with Malia, or maybe Lydia?  I saw some Facebook posts.”

“No,” Stiles answered, “What about you - Braeden says you two split ways after you broke off the search.”

“Yeah,” Derek said, hands automatically making the turns to Scott’s house.  “And it’s just me - I’m better on my own I guess.”  Derek’s eyes shifted away from Stiles, showing he didn’t really believe what he was saying.  Stiles didn’t press the issue.

“Ok,” he continued, “Where were you anyway?  I lost track of you after the third town in Mexico.”

“Further into South America,” Derek answered, “Don’t really know, didn’t keep track.  Just really kept moving.”  Derek sighed.  “Had a lot to think through.  You know I can turn into a wolf now right?”

“What?” Stiles asked, looking excited.  “No way, like, full out wolf.”

“Yeah,” Derek said, “Only other person who knew how to do that was my mom.”

“You’ll have to show me,” Stiles continued excitedly before the two fell into a lasting silence.  “I went after the Desert Wolf because I was hoping you’d be there, especially once Braeden showed back up.  I thought you’d be behind her.”

“She told me,” Derek confessed, “That you were looking, and you mentioned it earlier.”  They fell into silence again when Stiles didn’t give a reply.  It only lasted a few minutes as he pulled up in front of Scott’s.

“Derek!”  Scott called, the year turning him into a stronger and more confident Alpha as well.

“Scott,” Derek greeted, climbing out of the car.

“Holy shit, I thought Stiles high on something,” Scott greeted as he shook Derek’s hand.

“Spend one summer in a psych ward and they never let you live it down,” Stiles groused.  “I’m going to run and change so I don’t smell so bad.  See you soon.”  With that Stiles turned and took off away from the wolves.

“He do that often?” Derek asked.  “I mean - he didn’t look like that when I left.  Right?”

“No, just this past year, he really focused on bulking up,” Scott replied as they entered.  “That and his magic abilities as a spark.  He’s pretty good at it now.”

“That’s interesting,” Derek asked, “What kind of powers does a spark have?”

“Stiles is the better one to answer that than I am,” Scott replied, “He’s done a bunch of different stuff.  What have you been up to?”

“Traveling,” Derek replied, accepting the glass of iced tea.  “Surprised the preserve is still here, I thought they were tearing it down.”

“They tried,” Scott scoffed, “Stiles let that happen for about fifteen seconds.  Also got you an undisclosed settlement for trying to seize the land.”

“Stiles?”  Derek asked.

“Yeah, talk about fighting the man right?”  Scott continued, looking proud.  “Took the city to court and won on your’s and Cora’s behalf.  At eighteen too.”

“…Why…?”  Derek asked after a long pause.

Scott smirked, leaning against the counter.  “Derek, you telling me you don’t know?”  Derek raised his eyebrows.  “Stiles…why he would stick his neck out for you…”  Derek didn’t move.  “Seriously you got nothing?”  Derek shook his head, even more confused why Stiles hadn’t brought that up earlier.  Scott have half a laugh and a grimace.  “He is going to kill me before I get to college.  Derek - Stiles likes you.”

“Huh?” Derek exclaimed.

“Yeah - I know,” Scott said, “Totally surprising, he was only depressed every time you were seeing someone, did anything for you…do I need to bring up the pool?”

“He likes me?”  Derek repeated.

“Yeah, likes you,” Scott continued in the same tone, “Went a little nuts after Mexico, was convinced if your body was gone then you were still alive.  So he got the property back and he’s been hoping you would show up again.  Guess he was right.”

Derek furrowed his eyebrows and stared at the table.  “Stiles?”

“I’m locking you both in a closet,” Scott sighed in frustration.  “Yes, Stiles!  Now take him for coffee and either make out with him or let him down easy.  I can’t stand watching him run on the preserve waiting for you to show up again.”  Scott drowned the rest of his juice and grabbed another one.  “So - how’s traveling been?  You look like you’ve had a solid six months without death knocking on your door.”

“Yeah,” Derek smiled, thinking of the past few months healing and working on his new abilities.  “It’s been good, going to a lot of places with no names.”  Derek finished the tea and sighed.  “How’s it been here?  You and Stiles both look good.”

“Well,” Scott started.  “Malia’s mother came back and tried to kill her…some psycho doctors were cross-breeding supernatural creatures…Theo came back and he’s still evil…Weird beast showed up and tried to kill us.  That’s about it.  We’re waiting for the next thing that tries to kill us.”  Derek nodded and was surprised at how little guilt he felt about leaving the previous year.  Scott may not have had an easy go of it, but the world hadn’t ended because he left Beacon Hills.  Life had gone on.

The conversation continued about various topics and eventually the rest of the pack started showing up.  Scott’s words were bouncing around in his head.  Was Stiles really in love with him - or at least had feelings of some kind?  Now that Derek had that information, he really wasn’t sure what to do with it.

“Careful,” Lydia warned, having sidled up against the wall to his left.  “You’re going to stare a hole in his back.”  Derek turned and raised an eyebrow at the younger woman.  “So, someone’s told you then… My money’s on Scott.  Do you know what you’re going to do about it?”  Derek shook his head.  “Well, you can let him down but don’t break his heart.  You do and I’ll get the Sheriff wolfsbane bullets.”  She sipped her drink and gave him a sweet smile.  “I hope you decide to give it a shot - you two could be really good together.  See you around Derek… it’s good to have you back.”

Derek, unfortunately, was not sure he was back.  Beacon Hills might have been the ancestral Hale home, but he’d spent most of his life now away from the place.  With everything that happened, it might never be able to be home again.  Could he start something with Stiles knowing he was going to leave?  Would he take Stiles with him?  Away from his father when they were so close.  Derek wasn’t even sure he could, in any conscience, even start something he wasn’t sure he returned.  Stiles was attractive, kind, loyal, and a thousand other traits that Derek could admire; did all of that add up to love?

Knowing Stiles has liked him for so long, Derek would rather shy away from the young man than even risk crushing that spark inside him.  Unfortunately for Derek, when he raised his head, Stiles was no where to be found in the crowded living room or kitchen.  A quick smell and he picked Stiles’ sharp scent from the earthy musk of his fellow wolves.  It lead him outside to the back porch, a slight chill in the air the only hint that summer was on the decline.

“Hey,” Stiles greeted quietly, a drink dangling from his long fingers.  “You need some fresh air too?”  Derek grunted in response, his planned words flying out of his brain.  He opened his mouth and closed it again, not even thinking to comment on the weather.  Stiles sighed and rocked his head forward.  “Someone effing told you didn’t they?  That I got your house back for you?”  Stiles turned sharply away and Derek smelled the anxiety, anger, fear, and hope rolling off Stiles in uneven waves.  Any thought he had of just leaving were washed away.

“Scott told me,” Derek said, joining him at the railing.  “I don’t know what I’m going to do yet.”

“About the property or me?” Stiles asked.

“Between the two I care less about the property,” Derek answered after a beat, desperately trying to be better at communication.

“If it makes you feel any better, I don’t know what to do either,” Stiles replied after yet another silence.  “I want you, I won’t lie, but I also know Beacon Hills may not be the best place for you.  And you deserve the best, that’s what I really want for you.  So if what’s best for you isn’t here, or me, then that’s what I want for you.  That made more sense in my brain.”

“I get it,” Derek shrugged.

“Good,” Stiles replied, his brain blank again.

“Would you… would you want to come with me?”  Derek asked.  “I don’t know if I’m ready to be back full time, and if I’m not, do you want to give this a shot?”

“You mean, leave,” Stiles said, “Beacon Hills?  Everything?”  Derek nodded and Stiles let out a long breath.  “That’s a lot for a guy that’s never been outside a one hour radius of this crappy town, not really. I don't count rescue missions.  You mean South America?  Cause, I don’t tan.”

“South America, Europe, Asia,” Derek said, “I’ve, uh, you know my family had money.  It’s not really an issue where we want to go.”

“That’s pretty big,” Stiles said after yet another long silence.  “It’s not that I don’t want to be with you…it’s just, my dad.”

“Well,” a new voice said, causing the two to jump and turn around.  The Sheriff had arrived, Melissa was headed back to the kitchen when they overheard the lat part of the conversation.  “I think you should do it.”

“Dad,” Stiles started.

“Stiles, if you really love Derek, and he’s willing to give it a shot, then you should go,” The Sheriff continued.  “Don’t stay here just because you feel obligated to me.”

“It’s not just you, it’s everything that’s going on,” Stiles replied.

“My understanding is that ‘everything’ has been going on for a while,” his father continued.  “And I think it’ll be happening long after we’re gone.  So don’t let that be your excuse.  Now, you were in the middle of your love confessions, that’s my queue to exit.”  The Sheriff scooped Stiles into a one armed hug.  “You’re supposed to grow up and leave me kiddo.”  Stiles held back a small sniffle even as his heart lightened.  “Just make sure you send me a post card, call, and come back for Christmas ok?”  Stiles and Derek both nodded.  “Good, oh and Derek.  You’re both adults, you’re going to fight and get on each other’s nerves every once in a while, but you do anything truly stupid and I’ll find you.”  With that The Sheriff turned and went back inside.

Silence overtook the back yard again as Stiles turned back towards Derek.  “So, you ah, want me to go with you?  Give this a shot?  The good news is with your money if this doesn’t work out you can just throw my ass on a plane and switch towns.”  Stiles chuckled, trying to lift the mood.

Derek replied with half a smile and reached over, running his fingers over the back of Stiles’ hand to take it in his own.  Little sparks danced up Derek’s fingers and he felt Stiles’ gasp as his pulse sped up.

 

* * *

 

**Author's Note:**

> Let me know what you thought. Reviews feed the writer.


End file.
